Broccoli Cheese Soup

Delicious, comforting Broccoli Cheese soup… and it’s low fat. No, this is not a trick, it’s a treat. Yeah, that’s right. I used a Halloween pun just now. It’s October – I’m allowed!

This recipe is my own copycat recipe for Panera Bread broccoli cheddar soup and I’ve been making it for at least 5 years now. It’s become one of my go-to soups over the years because of how flexible it is – I’m constantly changing the cooking method or the amount of vegetables and it always tastes delicious!

I wrote down what I did today for this blog, but like I said, you can do more or less of whatever you’d like and it will still be perfection. In this recipe I’m striving for low sodium and low fat…. 1) I boiled my vegetables instead of sautéing first to eliminate the oils and 2) I did not add any table salt to this recipe.

∇NOTE∇ For those of you who have never used your blender for soup before… it’s important to remember not to overload it with hot liquids. Hot liquids will expand and increase the pressure in the blender. Only fill your blender about 1/2 way and use a dish towel to press down on the lid (if there is no locking mechanism) as you blend the soup. Otherwise it could blow the top off the blender – yes, I’ve done this before… If you have a locking mechanism and a pour spout, I recommend opening the pour spout once you have begun blending to equalize the pressure.

Ingredients:

Two large crowns of broccoli, chopped

4 large carrots, peeled and chopped

5 red potatoes, chopped

5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 large onion, roughly chopped

7 cups chicken broth (or enough to cover the vegetables in a large pot)

1/2 – 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pepper

Directions:

Place all vegetables in a large pot. Fill pot with broth, nearly covering vegetables but not quite. About 1 inch of vegetables should be uncovered. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for about 30 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Blend soup in batches (∇see above note if you have never used your blender for hot liquids) and return to pot. Whisk in parmesan cheese and add pepper to taste. Serve with crackers and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.